Content warning: film depicts rape, pedophilia, forceful deprivation of/disregard for personal autonomy, death.
As so many of us have been getting into the spirit of the season, Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut, Woman of the Hour vaults its viewers into a haunt that will truly have you shaking in your boots. That being said, I can’t help but acknowledge how the inaccuracies of the film, which so many publications are adamant about picking out, are the very warnings that I implore the young women of today to heed.
A brief summary of the film:
Woman of the Hour is a murder-thriller based on the true story of serial killer Rodney Alcala (played by Daniel Zovatto), who was convicted of murdering and raping seven women and children, though authorities believe him to be responsible for the murder and rape of over 130 women and children. The film flips back and forth between Alcala’s murders featured between 1977 and 1979 and his encounter with Sheryl Bradshaw on a dating show. Based on the real Cheryl Bradshaw, Sheryl (played by Kendrick) was the only woman who escaped Alcala whom she’d met on the dating show known as The Dating Game.
Defend Yourself
There are plenty of examples within the film where it shows when self defense would not only have been helpful, but it could’ve saved lives. Today young women have multiple tools of self defense readily at their disposal. Some campuses hold classes for their female students, in person and online, providing the skills necessary to disarm and escape attackers. Gadgets created such as tasers, mace, alarms, etc. grant their users the capability to temporarily disable assailants, giving the potential victim ample time to make their escape. Now I know many young women who move in packs, they go nowhere without their trusted best friends. They don’t believe they need another class or some clunky apparatus, but I’m going to plead with you to still have both. You won’t always be surrounded by your friends and when you’re alone, separated from the pack, you need to be able to defend yourself. So if you’re in a group, make self defense class a girls’ night out, or turn looking for self defense items into a shopping spree. Keep yourself and each other safe.
Please note: At no point am I advising or advocating the potential assault or maltreatment with any of the tools expressed thus far. The intentions of either option are solely for protection in the face of danger.
Learn Discernment
Sheryl, when introduced in the film, is an aspiring actress dealing with rejection while facing some of the multiple scenarios in which women are disrespected. One of the biggest reasons Sheryl isn’t being hired as an actress is due to her refusal to do any nudity scenes. She makes a point to make a clear boundary of what she is and isn’t willing to do. This boundary-setting mindset carries on within the film when appearing as a bachelorette on the show. Going off book with her questions, Sheryl asks her suitors feminist empowering queries and in turn she is making fun of the misogynistic interrogation undermining the bachelorette. When on commercial, Sheryl wonders if she took the line of questioning too far and the woman doing her makeup explains how every girl who comes on the show is asking the same question; Sheryl was just more straightforward. In asking what the question was, the woman responds, “Which one of you will hurt me?”
Discernment is the ability to assess and make an informed decision. This isn’t some sixth sense or second sight, this is something you must build, practice, and learn to be steadfast in. Many people who learned to cultivate discernment started within themselves, finding security in their own beliefs and morals. Try to exercise boundaries and expectations. At the end of the day, you can’t know what’s wrong until you know what’s right. Oftentimes our bodies are the initial indicators of fight-or-flight, we categorize the safety signs as flags; red meaning bad, danger, run; and green meaning good, safe, stay. Discernment allows the flags of others to be more visible.
Never Stop Talking
Laura (played by Nicolette Robinson) was a fictional character whose friend was raped and murdered by Alcala. In the film Laura is an audience member during The Dating Game, she recognizes Alcala. After leaving the studio the film shows how Laura was the one to find her friend’s body. Later in the movie Laura would report Alcala to the authorities and the police found it to be unfounded and did nothing.
According to Kendrick to Tudum “Laura really functions as kind of a representation of all the people that tried to raise the alarm and were ignored,” Kendrick says. “There are so many heroes in this story, but the heroes were outnumbered and outgunned by incompetence and negligence and a culture that did not prioritize victims.”
Never give up. There will always be good and evil in the world, but to paraphrase the wise words of Edmond Burke, evil can only win when good people do nothing. So do something, say something. Talk when you see injustice, and keep talking. Take the risk of telling the truth, because someday someone will listen, and do something, and good will win, and justice will prevail. Never stop talking.